Men’s 1st XV – Bournemouth II 17 Basingstoke 46
Basingstoke came out of the final game of their league campaign with another five points, making it four bonus point wins on the bounce before this Friday’s Hampshire Cup final. Oscar Worsfold and Sam Clarkson scored doubles to go along with scores from Captain Alfie Rowley and Rhys Fletcher, as well as 16 points from the boots of Rowley and Will Green.
In baking sunshine by the Dorset Coast, Bournemouth came out the blocks fastest, charging down a Basingstoke exit to score in the first 90 seconds. Green’s penalty shortly afterwards reduced the arrears, before an Oscar Worsfold break from an inside ball proved too much for Bournemouth, with Basingstoke claiming the lead with 15 minutes on the clock.
Basingstoke’s power came to the fore, as the pack milked penalties and territory through solid set piece work. A pinpoint dart from Sam Clarkson saw a maul power forward, with the flanker working his way to the back of the maul, dotting down to extend the lead to 7-17.
The first half was brought to a premature end through an injury to a Bournemouth player, requiring a move of pitch. The injury saw the match go to uncontested scrums, along with Bournemouth down to 14 for the rest of the game.
With the pack’s strength nullified, a second half followed that never really got going. Worsfold crossed for his second of the day, before Bournemouth’s midfield partnership took the game by the scruff of the neck, going over for a try and a penalty to bring the score to 17-24.
A home side depleted through numerous injuries saw the hosts fade, with ‘Stoke taking advantage. Clarkson crossed over for his second to secure the bonus point score, before Alfie Rowley and finally Rhys Fletcher crossed in the dying moments to secure the result.
Next up for the boys is a home Cup Final, facing New Milton at Down Grange on Friday 1 May. It will be an 8PM kick off – we hope to see you there!
Women’s XV – Basingstoke 29 Andover 20
Basingstoke Women rounded off a tough season with their best display in years, downing Andover 29-20 in front of a loud Down Grange crowd. Captain Rebecca Hope crossed twice, while Ellis Forsyth, Erica van den Ordel and Tam Izzett all also scored for the side’s first league win since February 2024.
Coming up against an Andover team packed with pace, the visitors pulled ahead against the run of play, with their rangy centre claiming an intercept and running the length of the pitch for the opening score. Down but not out, the girls played effective rugby in the right parts of the pitch to claw the lead back, as Rebecca Hope powered over for the side’s opening score.
A brilliant break by centre Ellis Forsyth saw the former age group player run in from 60 metres, before another long range score by the Andover 13 saw the lead pulled back to 12-10.
A huge shove from the ‘Stoke front row saw the home side win a scrum against the head five metres out from Andover’s line, where Hope was alert enough to claim the loose ball out the back of the scrum and power over for her second of the day. Megan Walsh’s conversion from out wide was successful, leaving Basingstoke 19-10 to the good at the half time break.
Andover’s centre crossed for her hattrick as Basingstoke were left to rue slow line speed, before eventually restoring their lead with a fourth score. Off the back of a great Walsh touch finder and a strong line out, the team worked their way through the phases, before Erica van den Ordel jinked through the Andover defence to dot down.
Just as Basingstoke seemed to have some breathing room, a fourth score from their centre saw the visitors reduce the deficit to four points, leaving the crowd at the edge of their seats for a big finish.
Basingstoke built phase after phase for that crucial fifth score to afford themselves some breathing room once more, and it came from stand out flanker Tam Izzett, bursting her way over the line to send the side – and the baying home crowd – wild.
A brilliant way to round off their season – a huge well done team!
Colts – Basingstoke 25 Farnborough 15, by Lee Cowley
Basingstoke travelled to Winchester for the Hampshire Bowl final, looking too improve their performance from the semi-final with a big display against league rivals Farnborough..
A tight start with the scores close in the 1st half, with Basingstoke holding a slim lead. In reality, Stoke should been easily in the lead,,but last-minute lapses in concentration left a few scores out on the pitch.
The second half started with Stoke dominant when in open play in attack and strong defensive work. Farnborough continued to push in what became and even contest with only 1 point between the teams for much of the match.
In the later stages of the match Stoke proved to have more firepower and stretched the lead. There was a lengthy break due to a serious head knock for a Farnborough player who we all wish a speedy recovery. The break worked for Stoke as they continued to move the score along with powerful runs through the tiring Farnborough team. End result a 25-15 win. Scores were from Alfie and a double from Sam, along with two penalties and two conversions from Zack.
U16 Girls – Barker Butts 10s Tournament, by Toby Wilson
Saturday saw the U16 Girls head to Coventry for their end-of-season trip to the Barkers Butts 10s tournament—and what an incredible day it turned out to be!
With a 6:00am departure from Basingstoke, it was an early start, but excitement was high from the very beginning. On the coach, bespoke team shirts were handed out to all the players, setting the tone for a fantastic day ahead.
Drawn in a tough group of six, with only the top two progressing to the knockout stages, the girls opened against the host club, Barkers Butts. Despite a valiant effort, they went down 26–14. However, the response was outstanding. The next two matches saw the girls play some brilliant rugby, combining skilful attacking play with determined defence to secure wins against Hitchin (33–10) and Crewe & Nantwich (35–17).
A strong Welsh side provided a tough challenge, and despite some incredibly brave defence, Basingstoke lost 22–7. The girls bounced back in style in their final group game, beating Phoenix 29–0. With other results going their way, they finished second in the group and progressed to the knockout stages—an excellent achievement in such a competitive group.
The day began with 12 players, alongside six injured teammates who travelled to offer their support. As the tournament progressed, minor injuries reduced the playing squad to just nine, with the remaining players cheering loudly from the sidelines. In true rugby spirit, the girls joined forces with Hitchin for the knockout rounds, forming a combined team—brilliantly named by the players themselves, “B*tchen.”
What followed was a fantastic display of teamwork and determination. The combined side powered through the semi-final with an impressive 42–0 victory, setting up a final against Barkers Butts. Despite some excellent rugby and great effort from the girls, the hosts were deserved winners, taking the final 42–7.
From a coach’s perspective, this was some of the best rugby the girls have played. Every single player gave her absolute all, and the highlight of the day was the incredible team spirit and the smiles on their faces throughout.
The support from the injured players on the sideline was equally outstanding and showed exactly what a special group this is.
It was a brilliantly organised tournament with strong competition, and the girls should be extremely proud of finishing second and bringing home another trophy!
Most importantly, it was a day full of enjoyment, teamwork, and memories that will last a long time. Hopefully, every single one of them had an amazing time—they certainly deserved it!
As the bus arrived back in Basingstoke, the girls were presented with beautifully prepared gift bags, generously provided by Lush—a big thank you to them. After a fantastic and challenging day of rugby, it was a well-deserved treat, giving the girls a chance to relax, unwind, and enjoy a bit of well-earned pampering.
U14 Boys – Devon Tour, by Ben Rees
This weekend the Under 14s hit the road on tour to Devon!
Friday and Saturday saw the squad enjoying some team building activities at the Manor resort in Okehampton. Target bowls, Air rifle/pistol shooting, pickle ball and ultimate frisbee were a few of the activities the boys enjoyed over the weekend. Most popular was probably swimming pool rugby an improvised activity the boys created themselves.
Sunday saw a short trip into somerset where we were hosted by Chard RFC who also welcomed North Dorset RFC to the club. The boys’ first game was against North Dorset who have won the Dorset and somerset cup at our age group this season. A tough physical battle ended in a 12-12 draw. Great game of rugby and a draw was a fair result.
The second game was against a Chard side who were very strong in the scrum. A slow start saw us go 3 tries down but the boys battled back and got noses in front just to fall short to a sucker punch try in final minute after injuries and lack of sleep took their toll on the team. Final score 29-26.
Chard were superb hosts and a court session in club house, resulted in several games of yum yum, some new outfits and painted nails for the boys. Some tired bodies tonight and a couple of injuries. Wishing the boys a speedy recovery and rest up ready for next season!
U7-12 - Kids First Festival
Our age group sides had a brilliant day in the sunshine at our home festival yesterday! Teams from across the county and further afield came to Down Grange in what was a brilliant day of rugby - games were played in the right spirit, embodying the values of rugby and some brilliant teamwork across the board. We're also incredibly pleased there were no major injuries on what was very hard ground! The players all had a brilliant day, and it was particularly nice to see players from our Men's section supporting the future of our club, handing out medals and trophies!
A huge thank you to the players and coaches from all the clubs that came down - not just Basingstoke, but an equally big thank you to Chineham, Overton, Winchester, Fawley, Aldershot & Fleet, Gosport and Fareham, Oakmeadians, Eastleigh, Locks Heath and Hungerford - as well as the vendors on the day!
The biggest thank you of all goes to the organising team on the day - thank you so much for the amount of time you've put into making this weekend such a success!
